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On Tuesday the House of Representatives will resume and may no longer have to contend with conflicting figures on the sum spent on the official residence of Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh Speaker, and Mr. Babangida Nguroje her deputy.
Contrary to allegations that the sum was N628 million, the National Assembly said it was N579 million and that the contract was not for just renovation but "total upgrading" of the houses, which are a "cluster of structures."
The spokesman of the House, Mr. Eziuche Ubani, had earlier put the figure at N238 million.
But the Director of Information in the National Assembly, Mr. Monima Daminabo, said that the total cost of upgrading the Speaker's residence was N187 million. Other forms of expenditure on the house, however, include N40 million on security, N11 million for Value Added Tax (VAT) as well as furnishing and fittings, which, he said, cost N71 million.
The sum spent on the Deputy Speaker's residence, he continued, is N90 million for upgrading, N55 million for furnishing and fittings as well as N123 million for motor vehicles.
The grand total, Daminabo said, is N579 million, adding that the works done on the residence were "total upgrade" and not mere renovation.
He added that only the sum of N52 million representing 25 per cent of the contract sum had been paid so far to the contractor.
Insisting that due process was followed in the award of the contracts by the management, the Information Director said that the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) had recommended that officers in the category of the Speaker and her Deputy be provided with office accommodation, furnishing and transport since they were not to be provided with allowances in respect of such facilities.
Senate President Mark said that allegations of misappropriation of funds leveled against the Speaker lacked merit and did not follow a due process. The Senate President who made his views known during an interactive session with newsmen in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, also frowned at the state of insecurity in Nigeria and warned that unless the country is reorganised, the fledgling democracy is in danger of instability.
Reacting to the crisis in the lower chamber, Mark said: "It is completely blown out of proportion. It is not (about) Patricia Etteh, it is (about) the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, who is the number four person." Secondly, whatever renovation or upgrading that is done in that house is not done for Patricia Etteh, it is done for the Speaker of the House of Representatives...what is my position? "I strongly support her!"
There is a process for awarding contracts and once that process is followed, there is nothing to fault there. What is wrong about National Assembly awarding contracts? In the case of the Speaker, I would support her. I believe that the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) would stand by her.
As the House of Representatives gets set to reconvene on Tuesday, the alleged financial impropriety committed by the Speaker and the likely consequences became the major development in the Federal Capital City (FCT), Abuja, with different groups holding a series of meetings while the ruling PDP remained divided over the matter.
The newsmen learnt that when the matter was raised at the meeting of the caucus of the party last Thursday at the Presidential Villa, tempers rose as members could not come to an agreement on the issue. Sources said that the caucus from the South-East told the meeting that the members of the House of Representatives should be allowed to handle the matter the way they wanted and should be in the overall interest of the nation.
Various interest groups in the House held several meetings on Sunday night on the matter. The New Agenda Forum comprising largely new members of the chamber led by Dickson Henry from Bayelsa State, met at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja with a view to taking a position on the matter. According to the reporter, the group discussed whether the allegations against the Speaker should be investigated or not. As at press time, the meeting was yet to come to a conclusion. The leader of the Forum confirmed that the group was meeting but said a statement would be issued at the end of the meeting.
The sources said that the anti-Etteh group intensified their lobby at the weekend as several meetings were held at the Apo legislators' quarters to perfect strategies. A prominent member of the group, John Halims Agoda, told newsmen that the issue was not of individuals but the integrity of the House and National Assembly. "What is at stake is the integrity of the institution and we are not talking about individuals. We are asking for an independent probe so that we can tell Nigerians the truth and nothing more", he said.
The chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Ubani, assured that contrary to the expectation of the opposition, the House would have a peaceful session on Tuesday. "We will have a peaceful session and demonstrate to Nigerians that the legislature, particularly the House of Representatives, has come of age and that we are here to make a difference,".
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